The following article contains spoilers from Monkey Prince #3, on sale now.
Despite their first meeting being hostile, Damian Wayne and the Monkey Prince have something of a frenemies relationship beginning to blossom. In Monkey Prince #3 (by Gene Luen Yang, Bernard Chang, Sebastian Cheng, and Janice Chiang) after kidnapping one of the students at Monkey Prince’s school, the two confronted each other before quickly cracking jokes at the expense of the kidnapped student. Almost immediately after, the two engaged in another fistfight, but while doing so, they both agreed they had a number of similarities.
These shared traits might actually be the basis for a true friendship. Both have difficult mentors, in Batman and Shifu Pigsy, they have parents who are villains, and they are both the inheritors of supernatural legacies. In addition, there are also similar personality traits to consider as both are excessive in a fight, often acting before they think. This, in combination with Damian slowly losing his friend Jon Kent due to their new age gap and his duties as Superman, might lead to him forming a new friendship with Monkey Prince.
The first thing both truly agreed on was that they had difficult teachers. In Damian’s case, Batman acts as both a mentor and his father figure, and he isn’t perfect at either job when it comes to the young Robin. Given the costume Damian is wearing at this point, it is also likely that this takes place well before the events that led to Damian severing his ties to the Bat-Family. Likewise, Monkey Prince’s teacher, Shifu Pigsy, seems to take amusement in the suffering caused by Monkey Prince’s headband. Granted, all the lessons, while tough, are meant to teach their students how to be better heroes. That doesn’t make it any less difficult though.
Another key similarity is their shared villainous parentage. Damian’s mother is Talia al Ghul, a woman who has alternated between the titles anti-hero and terrorist. On Monkey Prince’s end, though he does not know it yet, his parents have been moonlighting as professional henchmen to villains for years now, having recently returned to Gotham City to work for the Penguin.
Perhaps the biggest threat to them both is the legacies being passed down to them, both of which contain supernatural elements. Damian acts as the eventual heir to the Lazarus pits and whatever dark science and magic comes along with it. The Monkey Prince is the inheritor of his father’s abilities, being forced to contend with the ancient demons. In fact, later down the line, Damian will also face a literal demon born from the Lazarus pits. The two were almost tailored for one another.
While they do possess different personalities, Monkey Prince being inexperienced and a bit of a showoff, while Damian is more experienced and serious, the two have a fun dichotomy, acting like night and day to one another. On top of that, while Damian could always use another friend in his life, Monkey Prince might need him just as much. For years the Monkey Prince has struggled with issues related to superheroes, suffering from emotional trauma related to Batman in particular and befriending Damian might help him work through that and even assist in his learning curve.
